Donald Rumsfeld covered Iraq briefing papers with Biblical texts

Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, provided George W Bush with top secret intelligence briefings on the Iraq war that featured cover pages adorned with Biblical quotes.

According to a report in GQ magazine the religious texts were imposed over pictures of the US armed forces engaged in the war.

Shown to only a small circle of senior advisers, the pages were first used on the eve of the 2003 invasion and were designed to provide support and encouragement to Mr Bush, a Christian who often cited the Bible while in office.

One official told GQ that the damage done to America's image would have been as bad as that caused by the release of photographs showing the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad.